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May 25, 2015

Exploring Greater Phoenix for Arizona Restaurant Week

Special thanks to Lexus for hooking us up with a ride all week long, so that we could enjoy traveling across the valley for Arizona Restaurant Week! We had such a blast seeing places here around town we'd never ventured to. I'm not quite sure why, but once Adam and I find places that we like we usually just keep going back to that particular bar or restaurant; it's not that we're not adventurous--because we totally are! I think we stick to what we know because we're creatures of habit when it comes to food. But this is why I love Arizona Restaurant Week! It gives couples like us a chance to branch out and try new spots all across the valley that we've never explored before.

Today, we're sharing our most memorable experiences of Arizona Restaurant Week with all of you AZ locals--and also for you food lovers (which I know you all are!)

Day #1: We jumped into our Lexus, plugged our address into the GPS, and drove to South Tempe for some American cuisine. We sat and enjoyed a wonderful brunch at a local bistro on the south side of the valley, and left with doggie bags (seriously, SO MUCH FOOD!)

I'm not sure why I've never thought to mix pesto with olives and goat cheese, but now that I've had it my life is changed! This medley of olives was the perfect accompaniment with this crostini.

This Baja inspired salad was A-MAZING! The portion was really big, so I had to take a doggie bag home. But let's talk for a second about how awesome avocado and corn pair together--that was a new flavor profile for me, to be honest. I had never had both of those together on one plate, but now that I have I love it (and I'm hooked!)

Adam ordered some bacon macaroni and cheese--and I was able to grab a photo of it before he started begging for me to give it back to him. I mean, c'mon...wouldn't you want to start nomming on this if it came to your table?! I am that wife. You know the one; the wife who snatches your plate of food from under you to take a photo of it first. #guilty

Day #2: This was the farthest of all of the places that we drove to for Arizona Restaurant Week. Adam and I rode in the car for a good 40 minutes in Adaptive Cruise Control down the freeway, and we spent the majority of our ride singing along to our favorite 80s station on our Lexus Enform. Once we got to the restaurant and sat down at our table, I grabbed the special menu and instantly knew what we had to try first:Charred Garlic Chili Glazed Chicken Wings!! They were incredibly sweet and also had a nice kick to them.

Adam and I both had BBQ burgers for our second course--the sauce was fantastic. It was very smokey, full-bodied and sweet. The hamburger itself was good, but arguably the star of the show was the BBQ sauce itself. The truffle fries that came with our burgers were good, and tasted even better when we dipped them in some garlic aioli sauce.

I am glad that we ended this meal with this yummy, apple crumble and vanilla ice cream--because our drive home was so chaotic! The 10W and the 202E were an absolute mess; we were really glad we were safe, and that we had our Side Monitor to help us with changing lanes and being more aware of our surroundings during Phoenix rush hour traffic.

Day #3:On our third date, we really really wanted some steak! There were a lot of really great options to choose from with Arizona Restaurant Week, but we wanted to treat ourselves with some incredibly rich and flavorful steaks.

My favorite part of the main course was honestly the twice baked potato!*If you've never had a twice baked potato before, you're missing out!*

And we had a lovely chocolate, miner pie for dessert. It was topped with hot fudge, caramel, and almonds.

Day #4: Our final date for the week was farther north and up out of the city--the view was breathtaking! We could see the entire Phoenix skyline from up there, and the food was just as amazing as the view.

For the first course, we sampled some eggplant ravioli! It was a delicate shaved eggplant, filled with a three cheese blend and topped with blush sauce (and paired with a lovely white wine).

For the main course, we had a 6 ounce filet mignon with fingerling potatoes. It was drizzled with a decadent peppercorn sauce--so amazing!

Adam and I had a blast exploring different parts of the valley we hadn't ever seen before during Arizona Restaurant Week! Our tummies are happy, and I've felt totally spoiled all week long; between the incredibly delicious and unique foods we've been sampling all week, along with driving and riding around in our luxurious Lexus RX450h we've felt like Phoenix royalty!

How do you like to get out and explore your city?

Thank you to Lexus for hooking us up with a sweet ride all week long--such a thoughtful gift!

All of these dishes look amazing! We will definitely have to go when we make it to Arizona. We love trying new restaurants when we explore our own city downtown, but the most fun we have is exploring cities and restaurants when we are traveling. We are in Athens right now and the best way we explore is talking with people, eating, and mixing in with the culture. We love all the places in the world to visit!

Thank you! Glad you like the tour. And you are totally welcome here in AZ, but I'll warn you: it's getting to be the hottest time of year. Why not come visit us come November/December when it's better? Haha

There are so many great things to explore in my city, and there are new discoveries to be made all the time. Fun walks around different parts of the city are one of my favorite ways to enjoy nature & scenery, no matter where we are. I'd love to go exploring in a Lexus, though, as I'm sure it's complete luxury!

You are right--walking around different parts of the city is a great way to take in all of the scenery no matter where you are! SO true! And yes--the Lexus was so fun and very luxurious! It was the best ride we could have asked for when we drove all across the valley for Arizona Restaurant Week.

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